January, 2009

Phnom Penh’s newest entry to the late-night party scene is the semi-abandoned shell of a mansion at 32 Sotheros.

The old mansion at 32 Sotheros does not really look like a place to party.

Built during the 1920s, the two-story rococo French colonial looks like it hasn’t been inhabited since. The windows and doors are missing. The gorgeous Cambodian floor tiles are crumbling. Graffiti and bullet holes scar the threadbare walls.

“The place has a serious Bokor vibe to it,” says Zeman McCreadie, who organized the first New Year’s Eve party at the abandoned casino on Bokor Mountain in 1998. “It looks like a terrific place to throw a party, actually. I can’t think of a better place in Phnom Penh.”

Under the name La Mansion, moves to turn the semi-abandoned structure into Phnom Penh’s version of Bokor Casino came in November when a German movie maker rented the place to use as a movie set.

“The film crew were great,” says the FCC’s Steve Hayward. “They built the bar and the DJ booth for their movie set and then left them behind.”

The FCC stocked the bar, put in a few lights and, viola, La Mansion was born.

“It was really too easy,” Hayward says.

Since the film crew left the FCC has held several parties at La Mansion. The first was a series of photography exhibits held in conjunction with Melon Rouge, the Paris-based photo agency. More recently, the Saigon-based Latin-rock act Bad Neighbours opened a mid-December gig for hometown turntable titan DJ Illest.

That party drew nearly a 1,000 people and established La Mansion as a viable party venue.

More parties are planned.

New Years Eve with DJ Sam

New Year’s Eve will be La Mansion’s biggest party yet. Born in the Philippines, DJ Sam is something of an elder statesman in the Phnom Penh DJ scene. His resume reads like a history of the capital’s cutting-edge dance scene. He worked at The Casa during its heyday in the late 1990s, then later at The Monsoon. In the new century Sam’s repertoire of popular dance music and unpretentious vibes helped establish The Riverhouse as a serious late-night player.

It seems only natural that DJ Sam will be in command the DJ booth on New Years, when the FCC and La Mansion welcome in a new year and a new venue. The party starts at 10 p.m. Fireworks at midnight.

DJ Karma, DJ Glaser

The spinning continues throughout the month of January, on the 10th with DJ Karma — the Heart of Darkness Saigon resident DJ for three years — and then on the 24th with Sweden’s DJ Glaser.

At a Glance

Michael Hayes was a 23-year-old backpacker when he took that photograph (above) of two Khmer Rouge foot soldiers under arrest by Lon Nol troops.

It was November 1974, about 10 kilometers north of Oudong near the town of Lovek, and Lon Nol troops were fighting a losing battle against a surging gorilla force.

The fate of those two KR soldiers remains unknown, but the photograph still hangs in The FCC today. Given to Anthony Alderson, now FCC Operations Director, during the FCC’s inaugural year, Hayes’ shot would become the first installment in what is now known as The FCC Permanent Collection.

Traditionally each photographer or artist who exhibits work at The FCC donates one piece to the set. Over the years The Permanent Collection has grown to represent a Who’s Who of artists and photographers working the Southeast Asia region.

At the top of the list sits such photographic legends as Al Rockoff and Roland Neveu, who both lived and worked in Cambodia during the 1970s.

Gritty photojournalism marked the early years, but The Permanent Collection is not just limited to grainy black-and-white war photography.

Rockoff distinguished himself from his contemporaries with a reputation for being absolutely fearless under fire. His photographs of Cambodia at war are up close and unflinching.

Neveu’s works leans more toward political and historical reportage. His 2000 book “Cambodia: Years of Turmoil” captures the horror and uncertainty that presaged Cambodia’s plunge into the Khmer Rouge period. Neveu’s book launch, held at the FCC, received critical acclaim.

Gritty photojournalism marked the early years, but The Permanent Collection is not just limited to grainy black-and-white war photography.

Ian Taylor’s expose on rural kick boxing offered an insider’s look at Cambodia’s national past time. Shooting both in black-and-white and color, Taylor’s show ranks as one of the most memorable exhibitions seen at the FCC over the years.

In 1996, American artist Bradford Edwards became the first visual artist to hang artwork instead of framed photographs on the FCC walls.

“The Shape of Cambodia” presented a series of mixed media pieces sharing the same format — a map of Cambodia mounted on a wood board and filled with assorted materials, from collaged photos to broken glass to manipulated vintage paintings to bundles of incense sticks.

Other notable art shows include Mia Wood’s artwork from the mid-90’s, some of which dealt with the dynamic and unpredictable political situation in Phnom Penh at that time.

Wood’s cut-and-paste map of the infamous 1997 coup is one of the collection’s strongest artworks.

Sasha Constable, a long-term Cambodian resident, prodded many with her 2005 exhibit “Crocs, Cocks and Rocks,” a series of colorful, mildly provocative sculptures.

Well-known Australian artist Steve Eastaugh has had four shows at The FCC. Eastaugh always makes a poetic statement by putting physical form to an overarching concept of constant global wandering, his imagery hovering between abstraction and personal symbolism.

And there are dozens of others, each one a unique reflection on Cambodia. Together they represent a significant living and breathing archive of contemporary works on Cambodia.

The Permanent Collection is shown between formal exhibits at the FCC Phnom Penh and FCC Angkor.